Blocked up radiator... Would that cause surging?

So apparently my radiator's clogged as hell, but my head gasket is fine. That's the diagnosis from the shop here. So I took the radiator to a rad cleaning shop and I should get it back tomorrow and then I get to see if my car hates me.

I'm just wondering, though. If my radiator was clogged, in addition to overheating, would that cause undue stress on the water pump and possibly create odd power issues, or would that possibly in any way cause low end power surging issues, or any issues other than overheating? In general, is there anything I should look out for now that I'll (hopefully) have a clean radiator?

Couldn't say for sure, it's a possibility. If the turbo is getting hotter than it should, I reckon intake air will be hotter than usual. THat's kind of a shot in the dark though. I do know I got surging like that before my turbo snapped its shaft from all the oil spitting into the IC and intake.

Blocked rad shouldn't hurt the pump, you've got the bypass tubes for that.